Layla jumped backward gaining needed distance from the sickly man. She had to confirm she had clearly heard Anastasia's words.
"Both human and Apocrypha??"
Anastasia remained quiet. Instead of speaking, she slowly backed up towards the Apocrabile. She had never seen such an abomination in all her life.
"Tasia! How is that possible?? There's no way someone can be both, right??" asked Layla again.
Anastasia swallowed like she was eating rocks. Her body was trembling with fear. She couldn't comprehend how something so horrific had come to be. Were the Apocrypha doing secret experiments on humans? No, that wouldn't make any sense. There was no reason for the Apocrypha to conduct experiments on their food.
"I-I don't know what's going on..." muttered Anastasia. She turned her head towards Layla— a fearful look drowning her eyes. "Do you think we can capture it..?"
Layla tripped over her words. Anastasia wanted to capture that thing? They knew absolutely nothing about it. It was much too dangerous to even consider.
"That's crazy! It's much too risky, Tasia!"
Anastasia stomped her foot in frustration. She had a bad feeling that something very disturbing was happening.
"We have to try! We need to know what's going on!"
Layla knew Anastasia had a point. They didn't want this to be a situation that would haunt them further down the line.
Just then, Layla turned back towards the sickly man. To her astonishment, he was gone. She swung her head around frantically looking for him, until she heard Anastasia scream at her.
"Layla!!! Watch out!!"
Before Layla could even turn around, she felt someone pounce on her. The rifle was flung from her hands and her body made friends with the asphalt.
On top of her was the sickly man, struggling to take a bite out of her neck. Layla kicked and punched the man, but it was as if he felt no pain. His body was heavy and a foul odor crippled her nose. Layla was slowly being overwhelmed. Her hands began to tremble and the man's teeth came closer to her face.
A foot then slammed into his stomach. He was sent hurling off Layla— rolling along the road like a severed tire.
Layla looked up to see Anastasia. She had saved her just inches away from death. Anastasia quickly took her hand, pulling her up onto her feet. Sweat bathed Layla's face. The adrenaline within her made her lungs go wild with breathing. She had never been so creeped out about something in all her life.
"Are you okay??" questioned Anastasia.
Layla took a shaky breath before responding, "Yeah... thanks."
The two however knew it wasn't over. They watched as the man picked himself back up off the ground. It was as if his condition was getting worse. His right eye had now begun glowing purple and his fingernails grew prickly-black.
By this time, Nick and Zane had come to their side. They had seen what had been taken place and knew the girls needed their help.
"Are you two okay?" inquired Zane.
"Yes! Zane, get back inside! Your arm w—"
"Layla! Stop treating me like such a burden. I'll do what I want, whether or not you like it. Got that?"
Layla bit her lip. She was genuinely concerned about Zane. She was afraid his new disability would pose an issue. However, Zane didn't care. He wanted to do whatever he wanted, whether or not he had one arm.
"What's that thing anyway?" interrupted Nick.
"Long story short, he's both Apocrypha and human. Don't ask the details. Just try and capture him alive!" ordered Anastasia.
They watched as the man turned to face them. His face looked aggressive like a wolf in human skin. He dived towards the four of them. He was much faster than before. At first, he was as slow as a turtle, but now he was moving as nimble as a deer.
Layla dived towards the rifle. She needed to sever his limbs. To her astonishment, the man went straight towards Anastasia.
Anastasia was caught off-guard. The man extended his prickly nails and slashed at Anastasia. Instinctively, her arms shielded her face. The man's nails created a horizontal cut across her arms.
Anastasia dived backward in pain. She grasped her hand as a stinging sensation was sent zooming through her body. It was nothing she had never felt before. It wasn't a bad cut, but it was enough to make her bleed.
The man then continued his attack on Anastasia. Nick and Zane quickly ran to her aid. They pounced on the man, knocking him flat to the ground.
Layla then arose from the ground and pointed the rifle towards the man's right leg. She pinched the trigger, rocketing two bullets into his knees.
This was when something strange began to happen. Apocravirus particles began flowing from his wound. His leg quickly swelled before exploding like a grenade.
Layla hastily covered her mouth and nose. She had almost forgotten she was immune to the Apocravirus.
Zane was however having a very unpleasant feeling. His eyes watched as the Apocravirus particles spread through the air. His intuition was trying to tell him something. There was an abnormality with the Apocravirus.
"Everyone! Don't breathe it in!" he proclaimed.
Nick, Layla, and even Anastasia promptly moved away from the man. If Zane was warning them, then they had better listen.
The four backed up towards the Apocrabile. The man began making grunting noises as if he was suffering. This had only initiated a cause of panic among them. This was not normal.
As if things weren't weird enough already, they noticed something else that made them question reality. The wound on Anastasia's arm wasn't healing. It remained the same, refusing to close.
"Anastasia..? Why isn't your wound healing?" asked Nick.
Anastasia shook her head dimly. She didn't know the reason either. "I'm as lost as you. The wound feels itchy. It's almost like my body's immune system is trying to counteract something... And that's saying something... Us Apocrypha have developed powerful immunity. Normal viruses and infections don't affect us."
Layla decided she had heard enough. There was no way they could capture the man. If a cut from him affected even an Apocrypha, then she could only imagine the effect it would have on a human.
Quickly, Layla flung the Apocrabile's door open. They needed to get out of there before things worsened.
"Hurry and get in!" she prompted the others.
Nick and Zane were the first to hop in. Anastasia and Layla quickly following their lead. Deandre and Serenity were however lost in confusion and fear. They had been watching the entire thing unfold before their eyes. They had no idea what was going on.
"What the hell is happening out there??" queried Deandre.
"I don't know... Something is very wrong!" exclaimed Anastasia. She was still waiting for her wound to close, but it was refusing to happen.
"Just get us out of here!" screamed Serenity.
Anastasia was about to do just that. However, things could only get worse. She looked in front of them in horror. A hoard of Apocrypha was approaching them. Their postures were stern and intimidating. Shivers raced up the spines of everyone present.
"Mierda!" Exclaimed Anastasia in panic.
"What?" asked Layla in confusion.
"Sorry, wrong language..."
Zane looked around frantically. Now they had a hoard of Apocrypha to deal with. To make it worse, they were even accompanied by Chimera. They needed to find a way out of there.
"Get us out of here!!"
"Damn it! We can't get through that many of them! We're as good as dead fam!" cried Nick.
The group watched helplessly as the Apocrypha approached. For some reason, the Apocrypha even had weapons in their grasp. They seemed very serious about something. Layla feared it was because they had stolen an Apocrabile.
This was when the strangest thing happened. Instead of coming towards them, the Apocrypha ignored them as if they were invisible. They arched their weapons before them and unloaded a barrage of shots at the infected man.
The group watched in wonderment. Why would the Apocrypha ignore them just to kill one infected person? Why would they even attack an infected in the first place? It made no sense.
This wasn't the only thing they had noticed. They realized that the Apocrypha had a timid look across their faces. It seemed as if they were afraid of something. It was baffling to see the Apocrypha show such weakness.
"What in the world is going on..?" muttered Anastasia.
"Oh my gosh! What's happening?!" suddenly bawled Serenity?
No one understood why Serenity was crying, until they shifted their eyes back to the man. His body began to swell as if a thousand bees had stung him. Immediately, he exploded like a giant balloon. Apocravirus particles spread through the air like wildfire. To make things even weirder, the Apocrypha began to run away as if they hadn't expected it to happen.
One by one, the Apocrypha fell to their knees. They grasped their throats in agony as if they had difficulty breathing. Even the Chimera tumbled over themselves coughing up purple-blood. The Apocravirus was quickly killing them.
"Okay! I've seen enough! Get us out of here, now!" demanded Layla.
Anastasia didn't waste another second. She roared the engine to life and sped off down the road. Fear and confusion sealed everyone's lips shut. They couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
"...did the Apocravirus just kill the Apocrypha..?" mumbled Zane.
Silence answered him. No one had a definite answer, but it had seemed that way. If that were really the case, then that meant their immunity was no longer a thing.
"Please... We've been through enough for one day. Just... Just let's stop talking about it for now... This is too much for me to handle..." whimpered Layla, burying her face into her hands.
There was no argument. Everyone agreed that was best. They needed to keep their mental states in stable condition. However, the world had other ideas.
Little by little, they began hearing the rapid firing of gunshots and the bellowing screams of Apocrypha. Fear dug its way into their hearts. What they saw next, was the beginning of something that even the Apocrypha feared.
Their eyes looked forward. Before them, were humans, Apocrypha and Chimera alike, all shooting at the infected. The infected ranged from every living being imaginable. Animals, humans, insects, plant life, Apocrypha, and Chimera were all among the infected.
One side was struggling for survival, while the other side was ravaging everything in their path. It was a literal battlefield for survival.
The infected jumped from different vehicles, ran through the streets at swift speeds, sank their teeth and claws into the healthy, and destroyed everything within their path. They had all gone mad.
Even though the group had no idea what was going on, one thing was evident. The Apocravirus was out of control and no one could escape its wrath.